As remote and hybrid work take root in society, the concept of the equitable workplace is gaining traction. As workplace leaders, you don’t want employees who don’t work in the office full-time to feel uncomfortable – or for them to feel that they’re somehow getting short shrift in terms of amenities. You need to create an office where everyone is welcome, independent of how often they come to the physical workplace.

A positive employee experience goes a long way. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2021 report found that it’s disengaged workers who are the highest risk of leaving. It takes something more than a 20% pay raise to lure most employees away from a manager who engages them. Gallup also found that a workplace value proposition gives people a compelling reason to return to the office – and that this is a great opportunity for leaders to reimagine and redefine their offices as high-impact experiences that are equitable as well.

The purpose-driven workspace
There is a purpose for everything we do as humans. Going to the office is no different – especially now that it is not universally required.  For employers, this reality requires focusing more on considering these questions:

• Do we understand the current expectation from employees that there needs to be a distinct purpose for coming to the office, something they can’t do or get from their remote/home office?
• Are we providing purposeful workplaces?
• Are our policies equitable – that is, do they apply equally to all employees, no matter where they work from?
• What are we offering in terms of amenities to encourage and promote coming to the office?

Employers need to ask these questions to the stakeholders: their employees. There’s too much at stake to make decisions based on best guesses or what some other company is doing – every company and its employees are unique. Companies often think of amenities in terms of specialty drinks and snacks but don’t think enough about the other types of amenities – the ones that more directly connect to how employees do their jobs. Candy and coffee aren’t enough to compel people to come to the office. Almost everyone is trying to be as productive as possible, and if they can be more productive in an office, if the office is fostering that workplace productivity, that’s what is more apt to compel them to come in.

More than ever, common areas and collaboration spaces need to be brought into the offices to foster those connections. When people decide to come into the office, many of them find the purpose of going back mainly for social activities and engagement with their colleagues – relationship-building that can go a long way toward improving collaboration. And if you don’t prioritize creating spaces that support this, you won’t be helping to foster these connections. The good news is that we are seeing this take hold – research conducted by VergeSense found that the number of collaborative spaces has almost doubled since the pandemic.

The equitable workplace
The equitable workforce concept isn’t just the next catchphrase; it has real meaning for all employee segments. Workplace leaders don’t – or at least, shouldn’t – want people to feel that the employees who come to the office get better support or a better infrastructure than those who prefer to work from home. Those who are working remotely (and achieving good results) shouldn’t be effectively penalized for doing so.

Workplace leaders need to provide a sense of the equitable workforce – which means an office where everyone is welcome, regardless of how often they come in. And that must extend to the employees who have decided to work from home. A good example is ergonomic programs, which focus on providing ergonomic furniture and education to employees in the office – like adjusting their chairs and their desks accordingly and bringing in more natural light. Those programs should be extended to the employees working from home, as well. Some companies are providing ergonomic-grade furniture for remote workers. Others are providing training and advice articles. This is all part of bringing the equitable workplace to life.

The spatial intelligence factor
How do you ensure you’re fostering an equitable workplace? One element involves spatial intelligence. Leveraging spatial intelligence enables leaders to make data-informed decisions about their workplace transformation.

Rather than trying to improve the employee experience via trial and error or incorporating ill-informed employee engagement initiatives, spatial intelligence tools provide vital clues about how the workplace is currently being used – and how it can be optimized to support future work preferences.

For example, you can better enable flexible/hybrid working with desk occupancy sensors and smart desk and room reservation systems. That way, when employees who don’t come into the office all the time do come in, they are assured a reserved space to work and don’t wind up feeling displaced or out of place.

Feeling welcome at work
Conventional ideas of work life have been turned on their head in the last two years. As more employees opt for remote or hybrid work, companies must turn their attention to making the employee experience a priority. This includes creating an equitable workplace, where there is no difference in treatment between those who work in the office each day and those who prefer to work remotely or within a hybrid model. It also entails creating an office environment that everyone looks forward to coming to, a place where socializing and collaborating are provided for. It also means putting systems in place for desk reservations and for optimal use of space. These are the new hallmarks of a welcoming, equitable work environment.